Question

【題目】Something’s happening at the lowest point on our planet.

The Dead Sea, a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, is shrinking(縮小) at an alarming rate-----about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East. And human actions are largely to blame.

“It’s not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it’s more like the whole area,” said photographer Mortize Kustner, who visited the area in February to work on his series “The Dying Dead Sea”.

The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, some of the water sources it relied on were diverted(使改道).Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.

Mineral extraction(開(kāi)采) industries are another main reason the water levels are falling, experts say. The Dead Sea’s minerals have been used as medicine and can often be found in cosmetics(化妝品) and other consumer products.

And then, of course, there’s the Middle East’s hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to replenish itself.

Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $900 million deal in an effort to keep the Dead Sea’s water levels stable（穩(wěn)定）. It includes building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump water into the Dead Sea.

But for now, Kustner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters.

The Dead Sea, known as the Salt Sea in the language of Hebrew, is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. And because of what has been happening over the years, the salt is only getting saltier.

【1】Which of the following is NOT a reason for the Dead Sea’s shrinking mentioned in the text?

A. Some of its water sources being diverted.

B. The extraction of the minerals in the sea.

C. Visitors from all over the world swimming in it.

D. The hot, dry climate in the Middle East.

【2】What can we learn about the Dead Sea’s minerals?

A. They have practical value.

B. They are controlled by Israel.

C. They can be extracted very easily.

D. They are mainly used in heavy industries.

【3】What does the underlined word “replenish” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A. To clean something. B. To improve something.

C. To fill something again. D. To find something again.

【4】What would be the best title for the text?

A. What we should do to save the Dead Sea

B. More people travel to the Dead Sea

C. Why the Dead Sea is salty

D. The Dead Sea is drying out.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】C

【4】D

【解析】本文是一篇說(shuō)明文。本文主要講了死海，位于約旦和以色列交界，它是世界上最深的咸水湖、最咸的湖，這里的水位正在以驚人的速度下降，——照此下去，它是真的要死去了嗎？

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由But around the 1960s, some of the water sources it relied on were diverted(使改道).可知然而，上世紀(jì)60年代，死海賴以生存的部分流域被改道，這是死海萎縮的原因之一，排除A；由Mineral extraction(開(kāi)采) industries are another main reason the water levels are falling, experts say. The Dead Sea’s minerals have been used as medicine and can often be found in cosmetics(化妝品) and other consumer products.可知專家表示，礦物開(kāi)采是死海水位下降又一主因。死海中富含的礦物因其良好的療效而受到歡迎，常被添加在護(hù)膚品以及其它消費(fèi)品上，排除B；由And then, of course, there’s the Middle East’s hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to replenish itself.可知中東炎熱的天氣，干燥的氣候，也使得死海很難能夠重新積蓄水分，故排除D，故選C。

【2】推理判斷題。由第五段Mineral extraction(開(kāi)采) industries are another main reason the water levels are falling, experts say. The Dead Sea’s minerals have been used as medicine and can often be found in cosmetics(化妝品) and other consumer products.可知專家表示，礦物開(kāi)采是死海水位下降又一主因。死海中富含的礦物因其良好的療效而受到歡迎，常被添加在護(hù)膚品以及其它消費(fèi)品上。由此推斷出死海的礦物質(zhì)有實(shí)用價(jià)值，選A。

【3】詞義猜測(cè)題。上文提到了死海萎縮的幾個(gè)原因，所以這里意思是此外，中東炎熱的天氣，干燥的氣候，也使得死海很難能夠重新積蓄水分。“replenish”的意思是再加滿，故選C。

【4】主旨大意題。這篇文章主要講了本文主要講了死海，位于約旦和以色列交界，它是世界上最深的咸水湖、最咸的湖，這里的水位正在以驚人的速度下降，故選D。